This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Ashley Stephenson tried to put on a brave face, but she couldn’t hide her heartbreak.

An original member of Canada’s first women’s baseball team in 2004, the 32-year-old phys ed teacher has watched the sport’s steady growth over the last decade, culminating in this historic first competition in a multi-sport event.

She knows the Pan Am Games tournament itself is an important accomplishment and that one day she will be able to enjoy the silver medal around her neck, despite how it feels right now.

“Obviously we’re disappointed in the way today finished,” Stephenson said following Canada’s 11-3 loss to the U.S. in Sunday’s gold-medal final. “But I said to the girls: ‘Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but in a year or so we’ll be proud of this medal.’ ”

But then Stephenson couldn’t continue. She looked down, kicked at some dirt and took a long, deep breath to collect herself. When she looked up again her eyes were wet with tears.

Article Continued Below

“We’re really disappointed,” she said. “But this was a huge opportunity for us . . . and I’m so proud of the girls, proud of the coaches and proud of what we did here. We really think we put on a great tournament for everybody and we think we’ll be back in four years.”

The debut of women’s baseball at the Pan Ams did not go as Canada had hoped, but the athletes and coaches hope they left an impression on the thousands of people who watched them play this week and the tournament organizers who opened the door for their participation.

“It was not the ideal outcome,” said Canada’s manager, André Lachance. “But you know what, at the end of the day, I think we made a good run at it and we sincerely hope that people realized that these guys can play baseball — and we’re not (playing) softball — and we sincerely hope we’re going to remain a Pan Am sport.”

Not only was the tournament important to showcase women’s baseball on a larger stage, said Amanda Asay — who pitched 3.2 innings in relief for Canada on Sunday — but also simply to show girls and young women that they can keep playing the sport as they get older. “Hopefully these little girls see us playing with each other and against each other — all women — and sort of keep striving for that.”

Unlike the men’s national team — which won gold in a wild finish over the U.S. last weekend — Canada’s top female baseball players are not professional athletes. They are teachers and police officers and plastic surgeons and yoga instructors and students, juggling their training and competition with full-time jobs. The police officer, Autumn Mills, is working the graveyard shift in Oakville on Monday because she used up all her vacation to compete in Pan Ams.

“There’s all kinds of sacrifices people make,” Stephenson said. “But we love to play ball, so you can say it’s a sacrifice or you can say this was an opportunity of a lifetime. Maybe a little bit of both.”

The Americans jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning on Sunday, weathered a Canadian rally in the fourth and tacked on seven more runs to win the first Pan Am title in women’s baseball. U.S. manager Jonathan Pollard said it was an important moment for the burgeoning sport.

“The entire world needs to respect this and come see it and support it,” he said. “Give it a chance and you’ll see the great baseball these girls are capable of playing.”

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com